Harry held his breath as he made sure not to breathe in the mud that surrounded him. He tried to move, but it felt like moving in quicksand as his body began to sink deeper and deeper.
'Okay, keep calm, I can break out of this.'
Mentally calming himself, he pulled the energy from the rest of his body and focused only on his legs. His legs were glowing so brightly that they lit up the thick mud that surrounded him as he kicked downward, the force sending him rocketing upwards and out of the mud.
He took a big gulp of air before he looked around, finding no sign of the god.
'Shit, Erica!'
Landing on the ground, he kept the energy in his legs as he started to move, taking huge bounds as he reached the river bank and flew across it in one leap. When he landed on the other side, he quickly took stock of the situation.
Erica had managed to drag about half of the people away from the river bank while I distracted the god, but now the other half was rushing at her due to the return of the music. She was weaving between them, putting up barriers with magic to stop them from getting too close, but it seemed the authority that the god was using to control them also empowered them as they broke through it.
Harry could tell she was trying her best not to harm them, but he couldn't afford to help her when the god was right there. He pushed off the ground, flying straight at the god once again.
'I wish I had a more diverse method of attack, but right now I just need to look for an opening to end it all together.'
The god was prepared, having sensed his arrival and a massive wall of water appeared in Harry's way, but he destroyed it and continued straight at the god, slamming him into the ground.
'Now.'
Right as he was about to use his authority, Erica called out to him. "Harry, there's still another part of the legend. Watch out!"
The god at his feet grinned as black miasma began to leak from his body. Everywhere near him, the black mist began to decay anything in the vicinity. The people, who were under the god's thrall, fell under a similar fate as they began to die one by one.
Harry was at the center of it, getting hit directly by the most concentrated form of the mist. His natural Campione resistance protected him from most of the effects, and his authority eliminated whatever bit of it got into his body, so he didn't hesitate. With the god right below him thinking he'd won, Harry called on his authority, summoning a pillar of white light. He could see the god was about to react, but Harry didn't give him the chance as he slammed the [Aurora Pillar] down onto him.
Harry flew back away from the body as the pillar made contact with the god, erasing it for good. He didn't have the chance to appreciate his victory though, as he got up immediately and sprinted towards Erica, who had similarly been surrounded by the mist. Everyone around her had already died, but she had some kind of shield around her body protecting her from most of the effects.
The shield, however, was on its last legs unable to resist the authority of a god. It collapsed, and the miasma rushed towards Erica, right as Harry reached her. He quickly swept her up in his arms, sprinting straight out of the mist and back into the town. Looking down at Erica, he found that her skin had started to turn black.
Thinking quickly, Harry laid her down on the ground as he called on the newest authority he had gotten from killing the Heretic God of Hamelin.
[Pestulent Quagmire]: This authority allows Harry to create and control poisonous, black water. He can control how poisonous the water is, and change it into any of the three forms of water; solid, liquid, or gas.
Erica was already dying, and Harry couldn't use his other authority to eliminate the effects in her body, so his only idea was to use his own poison to counteract the effects. Black water began to form in his palm as he laid his hand on her skin, letting it seep into her pores as he began to draw out the plague from her body.
He got more and more relieved as it worked, causing her skin to return to its normal color as her eyes began to flutter open. She began coughing up black water, Harry having already reduced the water's poison to non-existent, as she took in her surroundings. She shot up, looking around wildly before she noticed Harry looking at her with relief.
"The god?"
"I killed it," he answered.
Erica let out a relieved breath before she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his chest and hugging him tightly. "Thank you."
Awkwardly, Harry wrapped his arms around her in a hug as well. He'd grown used to Hermione's bone-shattering hugs, but Erica was a much more delicate hugger and it left him feeling odd.
She pulled back, looking up at him for a moment before she scrunched her face up. "I have the worst taste in my mouth."
He was just relieved that she was okay, but as he looked at their surroundings he couldn't help but sigh. He knew he couldn't save everyone, even if he tried, but looking at the shriveled corpses left by the river bank, he couldn't help but regret that he didn't end it sooner.
"It's not your fault," Erica said, noticing where he was looking. "Heretic God attacks are natural disasters. The death count would continue to grow even more if it wasn't for you. Just look at the people we did save."
He turned, seeing the group of civilians who had been standing by, staring at the two of them in shock from the events that had happened that night.
"So, do we obliviate them or what? They kind of all saw magic, and I don't know that charm yet."
Erica pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and spoke briefly before hanging up. "We already had people on standby ready to handle their memories. They'll come up with a cover story for the deceased as well."
Harry just now noticed that they were still standing almost right on top of each other. Stepping back awkwardly, he wasn't subtle enough as Erica noticed what he was doing.
"You don't want to be close to me?" She asked with a pout, but he'd known her long enough to know she was messing with him. Knowing by now that he couldn't let her get control of the situation, he quickly acted without thinking. Closing the distance again, he wrapped his arm around her while tilting her head up to look at him.
"What makes you say that?"
He was treated to the sight of Erica turning bright red and stuttering as she tried to think of something to say.
'Note to self, she's not as nonchalant as she tries to act.'
He took pity on her, speaking again rather reluctantly as the two of them began to make their way away from the villagers, while the members of the Copper-Black Cross went to work wiping everyone's memories of the event.
----
They'd flown back to Erica's villa in Rome and Harry had been quick to take a shower to wash all the mud and grime off of his body from the fight. Now, he was lying in his bed in a towel while reading a letter from Ron about the World Cup. He told Ron they didn't need to pick him up and he'd make his way to the Burrow on his own and said he had a friend coming who was also going to be going to the World Cup that he was bringing with him.
Taking a sip of the water a maid had brought him, he heard the sound of the door opening. Looking up, he found Erica clad in only a towel wrapped around her body standing in the doorway looking at him. The water he had just been drinking quickly went down the wrong pipe and he began to cough.
"Hah, that's payback for before," Erica said as she turned to leave, but Harry could see their her face was bright red as she did.
'Damn, point to Erica. 1-1. If she's going to be doing that, though, I don't mind losing.'
Besides that brief amount of excitement, the rest of the next couple of days were spent resting and recuperating from the events in Germany. He and Erica had also ended up in some kind of game of chicken where they kept trying to make the other person blush first. Thankfully, no Heretic Gods appeared and he and Erica were quickly on a flight back to Britain to go to the World Cup with the Weasleys.
Erica and Harry were now sitting in Erica's private check as they ate a light meal on the flight. Something had been bugging him though, so he figured he would ask.
"Are we not able to floo back to Britain?"
"No, floo travel can't be used to travel to different countries, although there are portkeys that can be used for that long of a distance." Seeing his confusion, she elaborated. "A portkey is an object that has a spell applied to it to let anyone touching it travel to a predetermined location. It's not all that pleasant of a sensation, and I much prefer the comfort of my own plane."
He shrugged, accepting the explanation. He'd never had all that much luck with magical travel in the first place, having used the floo to travel to Knockturn Alley on accident and thoroughly hated the entire experience.
"Harry, I can see your leg bouncing. I'm sure your friends and I will get along splendidly," Erica said, and Harry noticed he had been anxiously moving his leg.
"Right, you and Hermione both have strong personalities that I get the feeling are going to end up clashing. Ron, well that's a toss-up, but I am not looking forward to this."
"Relax, it will be fine," Erica said, getting up from her seat across from Harry and sitting down next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes to take a nap. He didn't even react at this point, her leaning on him was markedly tame compared to the first time she'd tried to make him blush.
The flight passed in companionable silence as Erica napped on Harry's shoulder while he idly read a book. Eventually, they landed and Erica woke up, nonchalantly getting up and gathering her things as the two disembarked and got in the car that was waiting for them.
"Do you know how to get to the Burrow?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I've already informed the driver."
The ride was quick, and Harry was happy to see the tall building that was the Weasley family home. Erica had taught him how to shrink his trunk, so he had his luggage in his pocket, as well as an expanded suitcase she used for her luggage.
The two began the short walk towards the door of the building. He'd already told Ron that they'd be arriving today, but he figured they didn't realize they'd be getting there this early. The time change still hadn't hit them, but it was only 10 am here.
As they walked, Erica hooked her arm with his, and he already got the sense she was going to be teasing him. Mentally, he resolved to not give her an inch and make sure she couldn't take control.
They made it to the door and Harry knocked lightly, a voice called out "One moment." When the door swung open, Harry was greeted by Hermione. His bushy-haired friend seemed to have grown up a bit since he'd last seen her, and she was wearing a comfortable pink hoodie and jeans.
"Harry!" Hermione said excitedly, rushing forward and wrapping him in a tight hug.
"It's good to see you Hermione," he said, hugging her back with one arm as his other was still occupied by Erica, who Hermione was just now taking notice of as she stepped back.
"Your scar is gone?" she asked in confusion.
"Yeah, a foreign doctor took a look at it and managed to get it healed up."
"This is your friend?" Hermione asked, some surprise bleeding into her voice. He'd told them her name, so they knew she was a girl, but he could tell she hadn't quite expected a girl who looked like Erica did. Erica was a few months older than Hermione, being fifteen while Hermione wouldn't turn fifteen until September, but Erica had a certain poise that made her feel even more mature.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Erica Blandelli," Erica said politely, shaking Hermione's hand while making sure she never removed her arm from his. He also noticed she was playing up her accent slightly, although he couldn't begin to figure out why.
"I've read about you, you and Liliana Kranjcar were two of the youngest to ever become Great Knights for a Mage Association," Hermione said excitedly.
"Well that confirms Hermione did know about all that stuff and I was the ignorant one," Harry muttered, but Hermione heard him and shook her head.
"No, it's not really your fault Harry. They don't teach us about the Mage Association at Hogwarts for some reason. I only found out because I was reading books about the greater magical world and ended up getting interested in joining one in a cultural exchange."
Erica hummed lightly as she replied. "Well, I could get you accepted to the Copper-Black Cross if you'd be interested."
"Really? That'd be great, I've been really curious how other places use their magic compared to us."
"I'm gonna go find Ron while you guys talk about this," Harry said, knowing that once Hermione got going she wouldn't slow down.
He moved to unhook his arm from Erica's, but as he pulled away she said "I'll just keep Hermione company then," and kissed his cheek. Harry pointedly did not blush and just smiled at her before walking into the house to go search for his friend while the two of them continued to talk.
It wasn't long before he ran into more of the Weasleys, greeting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well as Fred and George in passing as he made his way up the stairs toward the attic where Ron's room was. His friend was almost certainly still asleep at the moment, so he didn't expect to find him anywhere else.
"Hey Harry, how's your summer been?" Ginny asked leaning in her doorway as he passed by her room.
"It's been exciting, that's for sure. Got to see Rome and I even ended up visiting Germany. I liked seeing more of the world, never really got the chance to travel before."
"Yeah, that's how I felt when we went to Egypt last year. What's this I hear about you bringing a girl with you?" Ginny said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Harry wasn't sure what exactly she meant by asking that. She had a rather obvious crush on him, although he'd never really known how to feel about it. He settled for just saying the bare minimum. "Yeah, Erica's a friend I met while I was in Rome. She and Hermione are downstairs talking if you want to meet her."
"I think I'll do that. Gotta see the girl that managed to attract the famous Harry Potter," she said in a mock pompous tone. Harry laughed in response as he waved her on and she made her way downstairs while he continued up to Ron's room.
He wasn't at all surprised to find his friend sprawled out on his bed, fast asleep. Grinning, he made his way over to him and lifted his hand before slamming it down hard on his bedstand, making a loud noise that made Ron shoot awake in a panic.
"Wah, who is it, what's going on?"
He quickly zeroed in on Harry laughing standing over him, before he grumbled and got out of bed to clasp his friend's hand.
"Mate, it's too early for all that noise."
"With Hermione talking Erica's ear off, I needed you awake to save me."
Hearing Erica's name, Ron grinned and leaned in a little closer. "This Erica you met in Rome, she fit?"
"Get dressed and come down and meet her and you'll see," Harry said, but the grin on his face gave it away as Ron slapped him on the back.
"Good on you Harry."
The two caught up for a bit, Harry giving Ron the cliff notes version of his trips to Rome and Germany without anything to do with Heretic Gods, and Ron excitedly talked about the World Cup. Harry had decided not to mention anything to do with being a Campione yet, but he wasn't sure when he wanted to broach the subject with his two oldest friends.
The two made their way downstairs and found Erica talking to Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny in the sitting room while Mr. Weasley sat at the table and Fred and George were probably back outside.
When Ron saw Erica he went a little slack-jawed before he whispered to Harry, "How the bloody hell did you swing that."
"Oh, Harry, Erica said she could get me books from her personal library that detail more about international magic. Isn't that exciting? And why didn't you tell us she was going to be coming to Hogwarts this year?" Hermione said with a smile, before elbowing him lightly.
"Yes, your friend would find it most intriguing, there's all sorts of things she could learn about. As for me attending Hogwarts, it's part of a cultural exchange that's happening this year, and I told him to keep it a secret," Erica said, her accent noticeably pronounced which caused Ron to blush lightly before Harry elbowed him.
"Alright gang, we've got to start heading out now. Ginny, go get Fred and George," Arthur Weasley said. It was also then that two older red-haired men came in the door and Hary was introduced to the eldest of the Weasleys, Bill and Charlie, and saw Percy for the first time since he'd come to the Burrow.
From what Ron had told him, Percy had gotten a job at the Ministry and took great pleasure in speaking about it loudly wherever anyone could hear. He would talk all about how much Mr. Crouch valued him, and how he'd be moving up soon.
Once everyone was gathered, Mrs. Weasley waved to them as they made their way out the door and began their walk to the portkey that would be taking them to the World Cup.